3-year-old Brit kids can’t talk: Survey

LONDON - A British survey has revealed that many kids are reaching the age of 3 without being able to say a word.

Although, babies generally start speaking when they are 10-11 months old, almost 4 percent parents out of over 1000 surveyed said their child did not talk until 3 years of age.

According to the children’s communication charity I CAN, 2 to 3 year olds should be able to speak nearly 300 words, including adjectives and also be able to link words together.

The survey also revealed that a child’ s speech did not affect his/her ability of quickly learning to talk.

“We know there is a golden period for developing children’s communication between 0 and 5 and that early intervention is vital if children are struggling…Chatting to your child, playing word games, pointing things out and having fun together every day all give your child the right start to communication,” Times Online quoted Virginia Beardshaw, chief executive of I CAN, as saying.

It was also seen that learning to speak was twice as difficult for boys than girls.

Nearly 34 percent girls started talking before nine months while only 27percent boys said their first word before the same age, according to the YouGov poll of 1,015 parents of children aged 1 to 7.

About one out of six parents said their child struggled while learning to talk. One in four boy’s parents reported the problem.

It was discovered that 20percent girls started joining words by the age of 1, compared to 16percent boys.

Nearly one quarter of those children whop struggled to talk did not get any professional help neither were they taken to nursery or playgroup staff.

Almost 80percent parents repeated a word if their child mispronounced it.

Children who talk late can struggle at school and may also suffer from mental health problems. (ANI)